Funky shifting in auto tranny - question to yall

[trendyincdotbiz]

My recently acquired 97 Impreza wagon EJ22 with auto has some funkyism shifting.
I suspected it to be going out when I bought it but it was so dirt cheao I couldnt pass on the sale.
181k miles on the auto trans and the engine aswell.
It was in dire need of a tune up when i got it as the gap on the plugs when I pulled them were .060 and they should be around .044.
Knowing this while buying it I thought that maybe the lack of tuning was causing hell with the TPS and what not , was just a guess.
After doing a full 200k mile tune up, minus auto trans fluid change, I noticed it shifting better but not totally dialed.

Now heres what its doin......

1st-2nd shift is hard if you are at light throttle. Heavy throttle shift is smooth.
2nd - 3rd shifts smooth but there is a slight 1-2 second delay in the power band change. Meaning its like its transfered gears from 2 nd to 3rd , but its not full engaging the power band of the gear for those 1-2 sec.
All other gears are fine.

Question would be .....
should I change the fluid?
It is 80k miles old.
Only concern I have is that when I do it I will cause the problem to become worse.
At the same time I dont want to leave that old fluid in it .

Hmmm......
Usually I wouldnt ask this sort of question but the auto trans is not my forte.
My subies are usually 5MT.

[log1call]

First thing you should do is get the trouble codes out of the TCU.
None of those symptoms sound particuly like worn out clutches. They could easily be electrical.

[trendyincdotbiz]

Thanx but I have no check engine light on.

[log1call]

Ok, your choice.

I just came back in to suggest that IF the codes were all clear, that the brake band in the tran can cause some strange shifting if it's not adjusted right. Not exactly as you have described... but that may be a matter of interpretation.

Checking the adjustment of the band would be the second thing I would suggest.

Cheers, Brett.

[trendyincdotbiz]

Oh no , great advice.
How do you check the adjustments?

[log1call]

Look here... http://cid-4ca3c3459aaa7f7f.skydrive.li ... ublic?uc=1 If you need to know how to actualy do the job there are some service manuals there for trans.

I'd still check the trouble codes... it's easy!